Purple Sophie Tankini Swimsuit

Another summer day, another Sophie Swimsuit! This is actually suit #3, this time as a tankini. Check out my Paisley Sophie Bikini too. My first tester suit (a one piece) was in this same fabric but the fit was off. After the pattern was fixed and finalized I went back and made it up again.

This go around the fit is fabulous!

My mom took this photo when she and my dad and my niece and nephew were in town visiting us. We had a blast while they were in town. Beach with the kids, lots of great restaurants (the kids can’t wait to go back to Beach Bunnies on A1A) and even a mermaid show! My parents were staying at the B Ocean Resort and the kids were super excited to go to the Wreck Bar (in the hotel) to see the underwater mermaid show. I don’t know how they keep their hair and makeup so perfect in the pool. It was really awesome!

Ft. Lauderdale beaches are so gorgeous! And this day the water was crystal clear and calm. I think that’s what I like best over on this coast. It’s so changeable. You can get full surf with big waves or crystal clear and flat. I love living in FL! In less than 30 minutes we can be beachside any day of the week, year-round!

All the Details:

Fabric:

This fabric has a printed texture and is a bit water repellant. It’s really pretty but I don’t love how the texture feels. A bit rough and not as comfortable as other swim fabric. The suit is fully lined in a mix of leftover swim fabric so it’s not as noticeable.

Pattern:

Cup 4, Wire:36 (This size is actually for a 38 wire which I didn’t have on hand. But the cup fits great)

Bottoms: Self drafted Bikini Bottoms

I’ve modified this pattern over the last year so it’s now my go to. Fits perfectly with the coverage I prefer.

For this version I drew a line on the one piece pattern at 14″ down from the center bridge and then curved my line around all the pattern pieces by laying them next to each other. My suit has a 1/2″ hem turned twice. The suit is lined in leftover swim fabric from my daughter’s last suit- butterflies and fuschia.

I really like the fit of these cups. They’re a really natural shape, modest yet still very va-va-voom! I think I do need to go up a wire size to the 38 my sizing calls for though. I used my 36 wires that I had on hand. My bust has changed quite a bit since my youngest weaned a few months ago, so fit has been trickier. I was up to a 36E at one point and usually wear a 36B now. It’s so nice being back to my smaller size.

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I went with the halter strap from the bikini (View B) and love it! I really like the shape a halter gives me and it’s nice how adjustable it is.

You may notice I have a few wrinkles across the body of the suit. This fabric doesn’t have as much stretch as my other version so I probably could have sized up a bit. I also had widened the bridge on my pattern, like I need to do with my bras. I thought it might help with fit but it wasn’t needed so I narrowed them back to the original.

The bottoms are my go to self drafted bikini. The leg hits just where I like and has plenty of bum coverage. Easy two piece pattern. I do have a pair of Sophie bottoms too. When my tester version was too small in the body I separated it so I could still have the bottoms. I like that I can mix and match these.

The whole suit was worked first on my serger and finished with the coverstitch machine which gives a nice professional finish. Because the fit was a bit tighter my seams pulled a bit more which made them a bit more visible. I really like the effect. Next time I may do a coverstitch down the seams to show them off more.

This suit is really fantastic. Really beautiful and elegant but still lots of support. It’s held up at the beach, the pool and playing with my kiddos!

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